Chapter 5 CEMENT Definition: Natural cement is obtained by burning and crushing the stones containing clay, carbonate of lime and some amount of carbonate of magnesia. Clay content in such stones is about 20 to 40 per cent. Natural cement is brown in colour and its best variety is known as Roman Cement. Natural cement resembles very closcly eminent hydraulic lime. It sets very \ quickly after addition of water. It is not so strong as artificial cement and hence, it has limited usc in practice. Artificial cement is obtained by burning at a very high temperature a mixture of calcarcous and argillaccous matcrials. Mixture of ingredients should be intimate and they should be in correct proportion. Calcined product is known as clinker. A small quantity of gypsum is added to clinker and it is then pulvcriscd into very fine powder which is known as cement. Common varicty of artificial cement is known as normal setting cement or ordinary cement. This cement was invented by a mason Joseph Aspdin of Leeds in England in 1824. After setting, this cement closely resembles a variety of sandstone which is found in abundance in Portland in England. It is, therefore, sometimes referred to as Portland cement. Various varieties of artificial cements are available in the market at present. We will first concentrate our attention on the study of normal setting or ordinary or Portland cement. Other varieties of artificial cement will be described subsequently. Cement and lime: Following points of differences may be noted between ordinary cement and lime: (1) Cement can be used under conditions and circum- stances which are not favourable for lime.CEMENT 121 (2) Cement, when converted into a paste form, sets quickly. (3) Colours of cement and lime are different. (4) When water is added to cement, no heat is produced and there is no slaking action. Composition of ordinary cement: Ordinary cement contains two basic ingredients, namely, argillaceous and calcareous. In argillaceous materials, clay predominates and in calcareous materials, calcium carbonate predominates. A typical chemical analysis of a good ordi- nary cement is as follows: Ingredient Lime (G20) Silica (SiO,)......... Alumina (AI,Os) . Calcium sulphate (CaSO,) Tron oxide (Fe,O3) Magnesia (MgO). Sulphur (6) cons Alkalies ... Total 100 Functions of cement ingredients: Ingredients of ordinary cement, as mentioned above, perform the following functions: (1) Lime (CaO): This is the important ingredient of cement and its proportion is to be carefully maintained. Lime in excess makes the cement unsound and causes the cement to expand and disintegrate. On the other hand, if lime is in deficiency, strength of cement is decreased and it causes cement to set quickly. * (2) Silica (SiO,): This is also an important ingredient of cement and it gives or imparts strength to cement.122 ENGINEERING MATERIALS (3) Alumina (Al,O3): This ingredient imparts quick setting property to cement. Alumina in excess weakens the cement. (4) Calcium sulphate (CaSO,): This ingredient is in the form of gypsum and its function is to increase the initial setting time of cement. (5) Iron oxide (Fe,O;): i This ingredient imparts colour, hardness and strength to cement. (6) Magnesia (MgO): This ingredient, if present in small amount, imparts hardness and colour to cement. (7) Sulphur (S): A very small amount of sulphur is useful in making sound cement. If it is in excess, it causes cement to become unsound. (8) Alkalies: Most of the alkalies present in raw materials are carried away by the flue gases during heating and cement contains only a small amount of alkalies. If they are in excess in cement, efflorescence is caused. Harmful constituents of cement: The presence of the following two oxides adversely affects the quality of cement: (1) Alkali oxides K,O and Na,O (2) Magnesium oxide MgO. If the amount of alkali oxides exceeds | per cent, it leads to the failure of concrete made from that cement. Similarly, if the content of magnesium oxide exceeds 5 per cent, it causes cracks after mortar or concrete hardens. It is due to the fact that magnesium oxide, burned at a temperature of about 1500° C, slakes very slowly, when mixed with water.CEMENT 123 Setting action of cement: When water is added to cement, ingredients of cement react chemically with water and form various complicated chemical compounds. Formation of these compounds is not simultaneous. But setting action of cement continues for a long time. It is found that ordinary cement achieves about 70% of its final strength in 28 days and about 90% of its final strength in one year or so. Following are the important compounds formed during the setting action of cement: (1) Tricalctum aluminate (3CaO, Al,O,): This compound is formed within about 24 hours after addition of water to cement. (2) Tetra-calcium alumino-ferrite (¢CaO,Al,O,,Fe,03): This compound is also formed within about 24 hours after addition of watcr to cement. (3) Tricalcium silicate (3CaO, SiO,): This compound is formed within a week or so after addition of water to cement and it is mainly responsible for imparting strength to cement in early period of setting. (4) Dicalcium silicate (2CaO, SiO,): This compound is formed very slowly and hence, it is responsible for giving progressive strength to cement. The above four principle minerals in ordinary portland cement are designated in short as CsA, C,AF, C,S and C,S respectively and their relative proportions, expressed as per- centages, are as follows: Coo 45 to 65 (alit) Go 15 to 35 (belit) When water is added to cement, the quickest to react with water is C,A and in order of decreasing rate are C,AF, C,S and C,S. During the initial period of hardening, the gain in strength of C,S is small and it is about 15 per cent of that of C,S. After 28 days, the hydration of C,S comes practi- cally to an end and the hydration of C,S only really begins124 ENGINEERING MATERIALS at that time. Hence when a high-strength concrete is required within a short period of time, cement is made with a high content of C,S. On the other hand, if a high-strength concrete is required at a later stage, as in case of hydraulic engineering constructions, cement is made with a high content of C,S. The hardening of concrete is greatly speeded by up C,A and hence, this property of C,A is utilised for producing quick- hardening portland cement. Depending upon the mineralogical composition df clinker in percentage, portland cement can be subdivided conventionally as follows: Alit, containing C,S more than 50 to 60%. Aluminate, containing C,;A more than 12%. Alumoferrite, containing C,A less than 2% and C,AF more than 18%. Belit, containing C,S more than 35%. High-alit, containing CS more than 60%. Site for cement factory: Location of ccment factory should be decided carcfully. Following are the guiding factors which are to be paid atten- tion to while making selection for site of a proposed cement factory: (1) Climatic conditions: Site for cement factory should be selected in such a way that its climatic conditions are favourable for the manu- facturing process of cement. (2) Labour: Site should be such that it is possible to procure the required labour easily and economically. (3) Market: Site for cement factory should be, as far as possible, near to the market of sale. This will decrease the cost of transport and minimise the chances of spoiling the cement during transport. (4) Power: Availability of power and fucl at economic rates should also be considered.CEMENT 125 (5) Raw materials: These should be available casily and continuously around the area of site under consideration. (6) Transport facilities: Site for a cement factory should be such that transport facilities are available for raw materials and finished products. (7) Miscellaneous: It is necessary to have parks, gardens, recreation centres, etc. near the site for a cement factory. Such arrangements would be helpful for giving relaxation to officers and workers of the factory. It may be mentioned that the above conditions are meant for an idcal site for cement factory. It is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain such a site in practice. It, therefore, becomes necessary to sclect a site which satisfies most of the conditions mentioned above. Manufacture of ordinary cement: Following three distinct operations are involvcd in the manufacture of normal setting or ordinary or portland cement: (1) Mixing of raw materials (2) Burning (3) Grinding. (1) Mixing of raw materials: Raw materials such as limestone or chalk and shale or clay may be mixed either in dry condition or in wet condi- tion. Process is accordingly known as dry process or wet process of mixing. is process, the raw materials are first reduced in size of about 25 mm in crushers. A current of dry air is then passed over these dried materials. These dried materials are then pulverised into fine powder in ball mills and tube mills. All these operations are done separately for each raw material and they are stored in hoppers. They are then mixed in correct proportions and made ready for the feed of rotary kiln. This finely ground powder of raw126 ENGINEERING MATERIALS materials is known as raw mix and it is stored in storage tank. Fig. 5-1 shows the flow diagram of mixing of raw materials by dry process: Calcareous Material Limestone Argillaceous Material Clay Crushing Fine Grinding in Ball Mills and Tube Mills Fine Grinding in Ball Mills and Tube Mills eG pen Mixing in Correct Proportion Storage Tank for Raw Mix Flow diagram of dry process Fic. 5-1 Dry process is adopted when raw materials are hard. But the process is slow and it proves to be costly. Further, cement produced is of inferior quality to that produced by wet process. Hence this process has been practically re- placed at present by wet process of mixing of raw materials. However, the dry process possesses the following advantages : (1) It increases the productivity of labour. (2) The capital required for the manufacture of tonne of cement is less. (3) The fuel consumption is reduced. Wet process: In this process, calcareous materials such as limestone are crushed and stored in silos or storage tanks. Argillaceous material such as clay is thoroughly mixed with water in a container known as wash mill. This washed clay is stored in basins. Now, crushed limestone from silos and wet clay from basins are allowed to fall in a channel in correct propor-CEMENT 127 tions. This channel leads the materials to grinding mills where they are brought into intimate contact to form what is known as slurry. Grinding is carried out either in ball mill or tube mill or both. The slurry is led to correcting basin where it is constantly stirred. At this stage, the chemical composition is adjusted as necessary. The corrected slurry is stored in storage tanks and kept ready to serve as feed for rotary kiln. Fig. 5-2 shows the flow diagram of mixing of raw materials by wet process. Storage in Basins Grinding. Mill Formation of Slurry | Y (errr | Flow diagram of wet process Fic, 5-2 It is thus seen that in case of mixing of raw materials by dry process, raw mix is formed and in case of mixing of raw materials by wet process, slurry is formed. The remaining two operations, namely, burning and grinding, are the same for both the processes. (2) Burning: Burning is carried out in a rotary kiln as shown in fig. 5-3. A rotary kiln is formed of steel tubes. Its diameter varies128 ENGINEERING MATERIALS from 250 cm to 300 cm. Its length varies from 90 m to 120 m. It is laid at a gradient of about 1 in 25 to 1 in 30. The kiln is supported at intervals by columns of masonry or concrete. Refractory lining is provided on the inside surface of rotary kiln. It is so arranged that the kiln rotates once in every minute about its longitudinal axis. " Storage Tank Coal Dust | = Air: Rotary kiln Fic. 5-3 ‘The corrected slurry is injected at the upper end of kiln as shown in fig. 5-3. Hot gases or flames are forced through the lower cnd of kiln. Portion of the kiln near its upper end is known as dry zone and in this zone, water of slurry is evaporated. As the slurry gradually descends, there is rise in temperature and in the next section of kiln, carbon dioxide from slurry is evaporated. Small lumps, known as nodules, are formed at this stage. These nodules then reach to the burning zone where temperature is about 1500°C to 1700°C. In burning zone, calcined product is formed and nodules are converted into small hard stones which are known as clinkers. . The size of clinkers varies from 5 mm to 10 mm and they are very hot when they come out of burning zone of kiln. A rotary kiln of small size is provided to cool down the hot clinkers. It is laid in opposite direction as shown in fig. 5-3 and the cooled clinkers are collected in containers of suit- able sizes.CEMENT 129 (3) Grinding: Clinkers as obtaincd from the rotary kiln are finely ground in ball mills and tube mills. During grinding, a small quantity, about 3 to 4 per cent, of gypsum is added. Gypsum controls the initial setting time of cement. If gypsum is not added, cement would set as soon as water is added. Gypsum acts as a retarder and it delays the setting action of cement. It thus permits cement to be mixed with the aggregates and to be placed in position. The finely ground cement is stored in silos. It is then weighed and packed in bags by automatic machine. Each bag of cement contains 50 kg or about 0-035 m* of cement. These bags are carefully stored in a dry place. Fig. 5-4 shows the flow diagram of burning and grinding operations. From Storage Tanks Formation of Clinkers Grinding of Clinkers in Ball Mills and Tube Mills Storage in Silos Weighing and Packing in Bags Flow diagram of burning and grinding operations of cement Fic. 5-4 Ball mills and tube mills: These mills are used to carry out grinding of raw materials or mixture of raw materials or clinkers. Ball mills are used130 ENGINEERING MATERIALS to have preliminary grinding and tube mills are used to carry out final grinding. Perforated Curved Plates filet for Feeding Outlet Vertical section of a ball mill Fic, 5-5 Fig. 5-5 shows the vertical section of a typical ball mill. It is in the form of steel cylinder of diameter about 200 cm to 250 cm and of length about 180 cm to 200 cm. The cylinder is placed in a horizontal position and it rotates around a steel shaft. On the inside of cylinder, perforated curved plates are fixed. Ends of these plates overlap each other. The cylinder is filled partly with steel balls of size varying from 50mm to 120mm. The action of ball mill is very simple. The material to be ground is fed from the top. When the mill is rotated about its horizontal axis, the steel balls strike against the perforated curved plates and in doing so, they crush the material. This crushed material passes through an inner sieve plate and then through an outer sieve plate.CEMENT 131 It is collected from an outlet at the bottom of outer casing of mill. Fig. 5-6 shows the longitudinal section of a typical tube mill, It is in the form of a long horizontal steel cylinder of diameter about 150 cm and of length about 7 m to 10 m. The cylinder is filled partly with steel balls of size varying from 20 mm to 25 mm. The action of tube mill is similar to that of ball mill. But fine grinding is achieved due to steel balls of smaller size. A worm is provided to feed the material to the mill. The pulverised material is collected at the outlet funnel. In case of large scale production, air separators may be employed to separate fincly ground particles. In this arrangement, current of air is used to carry away the finely pulverised particles. a for Feeding iy" for feeding Outlet Fi ™\ Longitudinal section of a tube mill Fic. 5-6 To combine preliminary and final grinding, compart- ment mill or multiple chamber mill may be adopted. Such a mill has different chambers or sections in which steel balls of different sizes are placed. The material to be ground is allowed to pass through chambers in succession. Chambers with steel balls of bigger size are placed first and they are followed by chambers having steel balls of smaller size. It is thus seen that a compartment mill combines the actions of ball mill and tube mill. It results in saving of floor space and it simplifies the grinding process. Cost of grinding also works out to be less by the installation of such a mill.132 ENGINEERING MATERIALS Field tests for cement: Following field tests may be carried out to ascertain roughly the quality of cement: (1) Colour (2) Physical properties (3) Presence of lumps (4) Strength. (1) Colour: The colour of cement should be uniform. It should be typical cement colour, i.e., grey colour with a light greenish shade. (2) Physical properties: Cement should fecl smooth when touched or rubbed in between fingers. If it is felt rough, it indicates adulteration with sand. If hand is inserted in a bag or heap of cement, it should feel cool. Ifa small quantity of cement is thrown in a bucket of water, it should sink and should not float on the surface. (3) Presence of lumps: Cement should be free from any hard lumps. Such lumps are formed by the absorption of moisture from the atmosphere. Any bag of cement containing such lumps should be rejected. (4) Strength: Strength of cement can roughly be ascertained by mak- ing briqucttes with a lean or weak mortar. The size of briquette may be about 75 mm X 25 mm Xx 12 mm. Proportion of cement and sand may be 1:6. The briqucttes are immersed in water for a period of 3 days. If cement is of sound quality, such briquettes will not be broken easily and it will be difficult to convert them into powder form. Laboratory tests for cement: Exhaustive tests are carried out in laboratory to decide precisely the quality of cement. Following are the standard tests for cement:CEMENT 133 Chemical composition Fineness Compressive strength Tensile strength Consistency. Setting times Soundness. 1 2 3 4 5) 6 7 A brief description of each test is given below: (1) Chemical composition: Various tests arc carried out to determine the chemical constituents of cement. Following are the chemical require- ments of ordinary cement. (i) Ratio of percentage of alumina to that of iron oxide: This ratio should not be less than 0-66. (ii) Ratio of percentage of lime to those of alumina, iron oxide and silica: This ratio should not be less than 0-66 and it should not be greater than 1-02. (iti) Total loss on ignition: This should not be greater than 4 per cent. (i) Total sulphur content: Sulphur content is calculated as SO, and it should not be greater than 2-75 per cent. (v) Weight of insoluble residue: This should not be greater than 1-50 per cent. (vi) Weight of magnesia: This should not exceed 5 per cent. (2) Fineness: This test is carried out to check proper grinding of cement. Fineness of cement particles may be determined either by sieve test or by permeability apparatus test. In sieve test, cement weighing 100 gm is taken and it is continuously passed for 15 minutes through standard IS sieve No. 9. The residue is then weighed and this weight should not be more than 10 per cent of original weight. In permeability apparatus test, specific surface area of cement particles is calculated. This test is better than sieve test and it gives an idea of uniformity of fineness.134 ENGINEERING MATERIALS Specific surface acts as a measure of the frequency of particles of average size. Specific surface of cement should not be less than 2250 cm?/gm. (3) Compressive strength: This test is carried out to determine the compressive strength of cement. Following procedure is adopted: (i) Mortar of cement and sand is prepared. Propor- tion is 1:3 which means that x gm of cement is mixed with | 3x gm of sand. (ii) Water is added to the mortar. Water cement ratio is kept as 0-4 which means that 0:4x gm of water is added to dry mortar. (iii) The mortar is placed in moulds. Test specimens are in the form of cubes with side as 70-6 mm or 76 mm. Moulds are of metal and they are constructed in such a way that specimens can be easily taken out without being damaged. For 70-6 mm and 76 mm cubes, cement required is 185 gm and 235 gm respectively. (iv) The mortar, after being placed in the moulds, is compacted in vibrating machine for 2 minutes. (v) The moulds are placed in a damp cabin for 24 hours. (vi) The specimens are removed from the moulds and they are submerged in clean water for curing. (vii) The cubes are then tested in compression testing machine at the end of 3 days and 7 days. Testing of cubes is carried out on thcir three sides without packing. Thus three cubes are tested cach time to find out the compressive strength at the end of 3 days and 7 days. Average value is then worked out. During the test, load is to be applied uniformly at the rate of 350 kg/cm?. (viii) Compressive strength at the end of 3 days should not be less than 115 kg/cm? and that at the end of 7 days should not he less than 175 kg/cm?. (4) Tensile strength: This test was formerly used to have an indirect indica- tion of compressive strength of cement. It is at presentCEMENT 135 generally used for rapid hardening cement. Following procedure is adopted: (i) Mortar of cement and sand is prepared. Propoc- tion is 1:3 which means that x gm of ccment is mixed with 3x gm of sand. (ii) Water is added to the mortar. Quantity of water is 8 per cent by weight of cement and sand. m—H> K-25.4 mI Elevation —-- 38.10 mm ——+«— 38.10 mm ——1 &—— 4450mm—> Hf Sea ar, 12.70 mm: 12.70 mm Kee 16,20 m1 Plan Standard briquette Fic, 5-7 (iii) The mortar is placed in briquette moulds. A typical briquette is shown in fig. 5-7. Mould is filled with mortar and then a small heap of mortar is formed at its top. It is beaten down by a standard spatula till water appears on the surface. Same procedure is repeated for the other face of briquette. Twelve such standard briquettes are prepared. Quantity of cement may be 600 gm for 12 briquettes. (iv) The briquettes are kept in a damp cabin for 24 hours. (v) The briquettes are carefully removed from the moulds and they are submerged in clean water for curing.136 ENGINEERING MATERIALS (vi) The briquettes are tested in testing machine at the end of 3 days and 7 days. Six briquettes are tested in each test and average is found out. During the test, load is to be applied uniformly at the rate of 35 kg/cm?. (vii) It may be noted that cross-sectional area of briquette at its least section is 6-45 cm*. Hence, ultimate tensile stress of cement paste is obtained from the following relation: failing load 6-45 (viii) Tensile stress at the end of 3 days should not be less than 20 kg/cm? and that at the end of 7 days should not be less than 25 kg/cm?®. Ultimate tensile stress = i (5) Consistency: The purpose of this test is to determine the percentage of water required for preparing cement pastes for other tests. Following procedure is adopted: (i) Take 300 gm of cement and add 30 per cent by weight or 90 gm of water to it. (ii) Mix water and cement on a non-porous surface. Mixing should be done thoroughly. (iii) Fill the mould of Vicat apparatus. The interval between the addition of water to the commencement of filling the mould is known as time of gauging and it should he 3} to 4} minutes. (iv) Vicat apparatus is shown in fig. 5-8. It consists of a frame to which is attached a movable rod. An indicator is attached to the movable rod. This indicator moves on a vertical scale and it gives the penctration. Vicat mould is in the form of a cylinder and it can be split into two halves. Vicat mould is placed on a non-porous plate. There are three attachments—square necdlc, plunger and_ needle with annular collar. Square needle is used for initial setting time test, plunger is used for consistency test and needle with annular collar is uscd for final setting time test. (v) Plunger is attached to the movable rod of Vicat apparatus. The plunger is gently lowered on the paste in the mould.CEMENT 137 (vi) The settlement of plunger is noted. If the penc- tration is between 5 mm to 7 mm from the bottom of mould, water added is correct. If penetration is not proper, process is repeated with different percentages of water till the desired penetration is obtained. Cap 330) Mooabie Rod ee Imm Square. " Z Indicator. Air Vent E 2 z : E 050mm —<# LAS 8 t K-Smm+ + Needle for AEE iomm Dia. Final Setting Plunger \<—Frame Needle Imm Square—- Non-porous Plate y = 7 = ‘ 2 = t — Seat Vicat apparatus Fic. 5-8 (6) Setting times: This test is used to detect the deterioration of cement duc to storage. It may however be noted that this is purely a conventional type of test and, it has no relation with the setting or hardening of actual concrete. Test is carried out to find out initial setting time and final setling time. Initial setting time: Following procedure is adopted:138 ENGINEERING MATERIALS (i) Cement weighing 300 gm is taken and it is mixed with percentage of water as determined in consistency test. (ii) Cement paste is filled in Vicat mould. (iii) Square needle of cross-scction 1 mm x 1 mm is attached to the moving rod of Vicat apparatus. (iv) The necdle is quickly released and it is allowed to penetrate the cement paste. In the beginning, the needle penetrates completely. It is then taken out and dropped at a fresh place. The procedure is repeated at regular inter- vals till the necdle docs not penctrate completely. The: needle should penetrate upto about 5 mm measured from bottom. (v) Initial setting time is the interval between the addition of water to cement and the stage when needle ceases to penetrate complctely. This time should be about 30 minutes for ordinary cement. Final setting time: Following proccdure is adopted: (i) Cement paste is prepared as above and it is filled in Vicat mould. (ii) Needle with annular collar is attached to the moving rod of Vicat apparatus. This necdle has a sharp point projecting in the centre with annular collar as shown in fig. 5-8. (iii) The necdle is gently released. The time at which the necdle makes an impression on test block and the collar fails to do so is noted. (iv) Final setting time is the difference between the time at which water was added to cement and time as recorded in (iii). This time should be about 10 hours for ordinary cement. (7) Soundness: The purpose of this test is to detect the presence of uncombined lime in cement. This test is performed with the help of Le Chatelier apparatus as shown in fig. 5-9. It consists of a brass mould of diameter 30 mm and height 30 mm. There is a split in mould and it does not exceedCEMENT 139 0-50 mm. On either side of split, there are two indicators with pointed ends. Thickness of mould cylinder is 0-50 mm. Glass Plate ~-Glass Plate Elevation Brass Mould Thickness 0.50mm Indicators with Pointed Ends H~<-- Split Not More Than 0.50mm K-65 mm: —_— OH Plan Le Chatelicr apparatus Fic, 5-9 Following procedure is adopted: (i) Cement paste is prepared. Percentage of water is taken as determined in consistency test. (ii) The mould is placed on a glass plate and it is filled by cement paste. (iii) It is covered at top by another glass plate. A small weight is placed at top and the whole assembly is submerged in water for 24 hours. Temperature of water should be between 24°C to 35°C. (iv) The distance between the points of indicator is noted. The mould is again placed in water and heat is applied in such a way that boiling point of water is reached in about 30 minutes. Boiling of water is continued for one hour. (v) The mould is removed from water and it is allowed to cool down. (vi) The distance between the points of indicator is again measured. The difference between the two readings indicates the expansion of cement and it should not exceed 10 mm.140 : ENGINEERING MATERIALS Storage of cement: Cement should be stored carefully. Otherwise it may absorb moisture from the atmosphere and may become useless for structural work. Following precautions are to be taken for storage of cement: (1) Moisture: If moisture is kept away from cement, it is found that cement will maintain its quality for indefinite period. An absorption of one to two per cent of moisture has no appre~ ciable effect on quality of cement. But if moisture absorp: tion exceeds 5 per cent, cement becomes totally useless. Hence, when cement is to be stored for a long period, it\ should be stored in air-tight containers. (2) Period of storage: Loose cement may be stored indefinitely in air-tight containers. But it is advisable to avoid storing of cement in jute bags for a period longer than 3 months. If it is unavoidable, cement should be tested to ascertain its properties. (3) Piles: Cement bags are stacked in piles. It is economical to form a pile of 10 bags of cement. A distance of about 30 cm should be kept between the piles of cement bags and exterior walls of building. Passages of width about 90 cm should be provided between the piles. For long storage, top and bottom of piles should be covered with tarpaulins or water- proof paper. (4) Quality of cement: Cement which is finely ground is more active and conse- quently, it absorbs moisture rapidly from the atmosphere. Hence extraordinary precautions should be taken to store finely ground cement. (5) Removal of cement: ‘When cement bags are to be removed from piles of suffi- cient height, steps should be formed by taking out two orCEMENT 141 three bags from front piles. It is also advisable to remove cement in order of its storage period, i.e., cement which is stored previously should be taken out first. In other words, rule of first in, first out should be followed. (6) Storage sheds: For storing cement for a sufficiently long period, storage sheds of special design should be constructed. Walls, roof and floor of such sheds should be of water-proof construction. Few small windows should be provided and they should be kept tightly shut. Floor should be above ground. If necessary, drainage should be provided to drain water collected in vicinity of such shed. For determining the size of storage shed, it is found that 20 bags or 1 tonne of cement will require about 1 m® of space. Uses of cement: At present, cement is widely used in the construction of various engineering structurcs. It has proved to be one of the leading engineering material of modern times and has no rivals in production and applications. Following are various possible uses of cement: (1) Cement mortar for masonry work, plaster, point- ing, etc. (2) Concrete for laying floors, roofs and constructing lintels, beams, weather sheds, stairs, pillars, etc. (3) Construction of important engineering structures such as bridges, culverts, dams, tunnels, storage reservoirs, light houses, docks, etc. (4) Construction of water tanks, wells, tennis courts, septic tanks, lamp posts, roads, telephone cabins, etc. (5) Making joints for drains, pipes, etc. (6) Manufacture of precast pipes, piles, garden seats, artistically designed urns, flower pots, etc., dust bins, fencing posts, etc. (7) Preparation of foundations, watertight floors, footpaths, etc.142 ENGINEERING MATERIALS Varieties of cement: In addition to ordinary cement, following are the other varieties of cement: (1) Acid-resistant cement (2) Blast furnace cement (3) Coloured cement (4) Expanding cement (5) High alumina cement (6) Hydrophobic cement (7) Low heat cement (8) Pozzuolana cement (9) Quick setting cement (10) Rapid hardening cement (11) Sulphate resisting cement (12) White cement. Each varicty of cement will now be discussed in brief. (1) Acid-resistant cement: An acid-resistant cement is composed of the following: (1) acid-resistant aggregates such as quartz, quartzites, etc. ; (2) additive such as sodium fluosilicate Na, SiF,; and (3) aqucous solution of sodium silicate or soluble glass. The addition of additive sodium fluosilicate accelcrates the hardening process of soluble glass and it also increases the resistance of cement to acid and water. The binding matcrial of acid-resistant cement is soluble glass which is a water solution of sodium silicate, Na,O-nSiO, or potassium silicate, K,O-mSiO,, where n is the glass modulus. The term glass modulus is used to indicate the ratio of the number of silica molecules to that of alkali oxide mole- cules and its value in soluble glass varies from 2-50 to 3-50. The acid-resistant cement is used for acid-resistant and heat-resistant coatings of installations of chemical industry.CEMENT 143 It is not water-resistant and it fails when attacked by water or weak acids. By adding 0-50 per cent of linseed oil or 2 per cent of ceresit, its resistance to water is increased and it is then known as acid and water resistant cement. (2) Blast furnace cement: For this cement, slag as obtained from blast furnace is used. Slag is a waste product in the manufacturing process of pig-iron and it contains the basic elements of cement, namely, alumina, lime and silica. Clinkers of cement arc ground with about 60 to 65 per cent of slag. The properties of this cement are morc or less the same as those of ordinary cement. Its strength in early days is less and hence, it requires longer curing period. It proves to be economical as slag which is a waste product is used in its manufacture. : (3) Coloured cement: Cement of desired colour may be obtained by intimately mixing mincral pigments with ordinary cement. The amount of colouring material may vary from 5 to 10 per cent. If this percentage exceeds 10 per cent, the strength of cement is affected. Chromium oxide gives grcen colour. Cobalt imparts bluc colour. Iron oxide in different proportions gives brown, red or yellow colour. Manganese dioxide is used to produce black or brown coloured cement. Coloured cements are widely used for finishing of floors, external surfaces, artificial marble, window sill slabs, textured panel faces, stair treads, etc. (4) Expanding cement: This type of cement is produced by adding an expand- ing medium like sulpho-aluminate and a stabilising agent to ordinary cement. Hence this cement expands whereas other cements shrink. Expanding cement is used for the construction of water retaining structures and also for repairing the damaged concrete surfaces.144 ENGINEERING MATERIALS (5) High alumina cement: This cement is produced by grinding clinkers formed by calcining bauxite and limc. Bauxite is an aluminium ore. It is specified that total alumina content should not be less than 32 per cent and the ratio by weight of alumina to lime should be between 0-85 and 1-30. This cement is known by the trade names of ‘Cement Fondw’ in England and ‘Lumnite’ in America. Following are the advantages of this cement: (i) Initial setting time of this cement is more than 3 hours. Final sctting time is about 5 hours. It,, therefore, allows more time for mixing and placing’ opcrations. : (ii) It can stand high tempcratures. (iii) It evolves great heat during setting. It is, there- fore, not affected by frost. (iv) It resists the action of acids in a better way. (v) It sets quickly and attains higher ultimate strength in a short period. Its strength after 1 day is about 400 kg/cm? and that after 3 days is about 500 kg/cm?. (vi) Its setting action mainly depends on the chemical reactions and hence, it is not necessary to grind it to fine powder. Following are the disadvantages of this cement: (i) Extreme care is to be taken to sec that it docs not come in contact with even traces of lime or ordinary cement. (ii) It cannot be uscd in mass construction as it evolves great heat and as it scts soon. (iii) It is costly. (6) Hydrophobic cement: This type of cement contains admixtures which decrease the wetting ability of cement grains. The usual hydrophobic admixtures are acidol, naphthenesoap, oxidised petrolatum, etc. These substances form a thin film around cement grains. When water is added to hydrophobic cement, the absorption.CEMENT 145 films are torn off the surface and they do not in any way, prevent the normal hardening of cement. However, in initial stages, the gain in strength is less as hydrophobic films on cement grains prevent the interaction with water. However, its strength after 28 days is equal to that of ordinary portland cement. When hydrophobic cement is used, the fine pores in concrete are uniformly distributed and thus the frost resistance and water resistance of such concrete are considerably increased. (7) Low heat cement: Considerable heat is produced during the setting action of cement. In order to reduce the amount of heat, this type of cement is used. It contains lower percentage of tri- calcium aluminate C,A and higher percentage of dicalcium silicate C,S. This cement possesses less compressive strength. Initial setting time is about one hour and final setting time is about 10 hours. It is mainly used for mass concrete work. (8) Pozzuolana cement: Pozzuolana is a volcanic powder. It is found in Italy near Vesuvius. It resembles surkhi which is prepared by burning bricks made from ordinary soils. It can also be processed from shales and certain types of clays. The per- centage of pozzuolana material should be between 10 to 30. Following are the advantages of this cement: i) It attains compressive strength with age. ii) It can resist action of sulphates. iii) It evolves less heat during setting. iv) It imparts higher degree of watertightness. v) It imparts plasticity and workability to mortar and concrete prepared from it. (vi) It is cheap. (vii) It offers great resistance to expansion. (viii) It possesses higher tensile strength.146 ENGINEERING MATERIALS Following are the disadvantages of this cement: (i) Its compressive strength in early days is less. (ii) Tt possesses less resistance to erosion and weather- ing action. This cement is used to prepare mass concrete of lean mix and for marine structures. It is also uscd in sewage works and for laying conc.ete under water. (9) Quick setting cement: This cement is produced by adding a small percentage et aluminium sulphate and by fincly grinding the cement.\ Percentage of gypsum or retarder for setting action is also | greatly reduced. Addition of aluminium sulphate and fineness of grinding are responsible for accelerating the setting action of cement. The setting action of ccment starts within five minutes after addition of water and it becomes hard like stone in less than 30 minutes or so. Extreme care is to be taken when this cement is used as mixing and placing of concrete are to be completed in a very short period. This cement is used to lay conercte under static water or running water. (10) Rapid hardening cement: Initial and final setting times of this cement are the same as those of ordinary cement. But it attains high strength in early days. This is due to the following facts: (i) burning at high temperatures, (ii) increased lime content in cement composition, and (iii) very fine grinding. This cement is slightly costlier than ordinary cement, but it offers the following advantages: (i) As it sets rapidly, construction work may be carried out speedily. (ii) Formwork of concrete can be removed earlier and it can therefore be used frequently. (iii) It obtains strength in a short period. Compressive strength at the end of one day is about 115 kg/cm? and that atthe end of 3 days is about 210 kg/cm?CEMENT 147 Similarly, tensile strength at the end of one day is about 20 kg/cm? and that at the end of 3 days is about 30 kg/cm?. (iv) It is light in weight. (v) It is not damaged easily. (vi) Structural members constructed with this cement may be loaded earlier. (vii) This cement requires short period of curing. (viii) Use of this cement allows higher permissible stresses in the design. It therefore results in economic design. (11) Sulphate resisting cement: In this cement, percentage of tricalcium aluminate is kept below 5 to 6 per cent and it results in the increase in resisting power against sulphates. This cement is used for structures which are likely to be damaged by severe alkaline conditions such as canal linings, culverts, syphons, etc. (12) White cement: This is just a variety of ordinary cement and it is pre- pared from such raw matcrials which are practically free from colouring oxides of iron, manganese or chromium. It is white in colour and it is used for floor finish, plaster work, ornamental work, etc. It should not set earlier than 30 minutes. It should be carefully transported and stored in closed containers only. It is more costly than ordinary cement because of specific requirements imposed upon the raw materials and the manufacturing process. QUESTIONS 1, Explain composition of ordinary cement. 2. Explain the functions of cement ingredients.148 10. V. 12. 13, ENGINEERING MATERIALS How does cement set? What are the functions of four principle minerals? Differentiaté between the following: (1) Natural cement and artificial cement (2) Cement and lime (3) Dry process and wet process (4) Initial setting time and final setting time (5) White cement and ordinary cement (6) Acid-resistant cement and hydrophobic cement (7) Ball mill and tube mill (8) linkers and nodules (9) Quick setting cement and rapid hardening cement. Describe the guiding factors which are to be paid attention \ to while making selection for site of a proposed cement factory. Discuss at length the manufacturing process of ordinary cement. Write short notes on: (1) Fineness test (2) Compressive strength test (3) Tensile strength test (4) Consistency test (5) Soundness test (6) Quick setting cement (7) Acid-resistant cement (8) Clinkers (9) White cement (10) Hydrophobic cement. Explain the functions of ball mills and tube mills. Describe the field tests for cement. Enumerate the laboratory tests for cement and describe any two of them. . What are the precautions which are to be taken for the storage of cement? Mention the uses of cement. State the advantages and disadvantages of high alumina cement.14, 15. 20. 21. CEMENT 149 What is rapid hardening cement? What are its advantages? Enumerate the various varieties of cement in addition to ordinary cement. Give sketches of the following: (1) Rotary kiln (2) Le Chatelier apparatus (3) Standard briquette (4) Vicat apparatus (5) Vertical section of a ball mill (6) Longitudinal section of a tube mill. What are the advantages and disadvantages of pozzuolana cement? Draw the flow diagrams for mixing of raw materials by dry process and wet process for the manufacture of ordinary cement. What are the harmful constituents of cement? Draw the flow diagram of burning and grinding opera- tions involved in the manufacture of ordinary cement. Give reasons for the following: (1) Dry process has been practically replaced at present by wet process of mixing of raw materials. (2) During grinding of cement, a small quantity of gypsum is added. (3) Cement should be stored carefully. (4) It is not necessary to grind high alumina cement to fine powder. (5) The proportion of lime in cement is to be carefully maintained. (6) Quick setting cement is used to lay concrete under static water or running water. (7) White cement is more costly than ordinary cement. (8) Cement with a high content of C,S is used for hydraulic engineering constructions.Chapter 6 MORTAR Definition: The term mortar is used to indicate a paste prepared by adding required quantity of water to a mixture of bind- ing material like cement or lime and fine aggregate like sand. The above two components of mortar, namely, the binding material and fine aggregate are sometimes referred to as matrix and adulterant respectively. The matrix binds thel particles of the adulterant and as such, the durability, quality | and strength of mortar will mainly depend on the quantity \ and quality of the matrix. Sand: We have studied cement and lime in previous chapters. Sand forms an important ingredient of mortar. Its different aspects will now, therefore, be briefly discussed. Natural sources of sand: Sand particles consist of small grains of silica (SiO,). It is formed by the decomposition of sandstones due to various effects of weather. According to the natural sources from which sand is obtained, it is of the following three types: (1) Pit sand (2) River sand (3) Sea sand. (1) Pit sand: This sand is obtained by forming pits into soils and the pit sand is obtained from a depth of about 1 m to 2 m from ground level. Pit sand consists of sharp angular grains which are free from salts. For making mortar, clean pit sand should only be used. (2) River sand: This sand is obtained from banks or beds of rivers. River sand consists of fine rounded grains. Colour of river sand is almost white. As river sand is usually available in clean condition, it is widely used for all purposes.